Colder
by Long Island
Summary: Sam and Freddie get in trouble.


Disclaimer: I have and make no claim to any iCarly copyright. Non iCarly characters and settings are my own.

The wind bit through the blanket they had wrapped around themselves for additional protection as they walked, and through the coats each wore. Both shivered as they trudged through the snow which had accumulated during the drive and now the walk, both damning the weather and their luck.

Sam quietly cursed as she walked. She had been doing so since they had begun walking, nearly three hours ago, grey afternoon turning to black evening in that time. Freddie was silent, just putting one foot in front of the other; he had not spoken since catching up to her and adding her to the blanket.

She stopped, which stopped him. Sam looks as worn as I feel, he thought.

"I'm tired, Freddie. I'm colder than I've ever been and I don't think I can walk much farther. I guess you were right, we should have stayed with the car."

"Don't think about it. Try stamping your feet, it may warm them up a bit."

He did as he suggested but she remained still. "You shouldn't have come after me. You should have stayed with the car. Now I've killed you as well as myself."

"No one's dead, Sam. And what, you think I would let you wander around out here all alone? What kind of friend would I be?"

"What kind of friend am I? We've been walking for hours and we're still in the middle of nowhere. The speed we're going it's five or six hours to the next town, I won't make that. I wouldn't even make it back to the car. You always said someday I'd get into something I couldn't get out of, I think this is it. Take the blanket, try and get back to the car. You can say I walked away alone, and that you tried to talk me out of it."

"We're not dead, Sam. We're not dying. We do need to get back to the car. You're right though, we're too cold to do it now. We need to get warm."

Freddie looked around, struggling to see in the dark. He noticed a promising snowbank piled high against a group of trees. "There, Sam. There's shelter. Let's go."

"I don't see it, nub."

"You do, you just don't know it."

Freddie threw off the blanket and dropped to his knees, scooping snow from the bank. She dropped the blanket and joined him.

"There should be some clear space near the trunk, evergreen branches protect that in big snows. There should be space for us."

They broke through to an open pocket. "Okay Sam, you first, head first."

"I'm even colder now, is this gonna work?"

"Yes, it will. Here, take the blanket, spread it out. We should both be on it."

She was too done-in to argue. He had at least given her something to work for , some hope, to fill her final minutes. Sam laid down on the blanket, to await what would come.

He entered, feet first. She complained, he explained that the entrance needed to be built up properly.

"We'll be warm soon, Sam. Take off your boots. Trust me, do it. I'm taking off mine now. Okay, now stick your feet inside my jacket, all the way up. That's it. Here come my feet."

"Hey, watch where you put those feet, Fredcreep."

"Sorry, Sam. I was just stretching, honest."

. . . . .

They setled down to try and rest, hands in their own pockets, feet in each other's parka. Freddie's mind drifted back to the night before, when he was warm and safe and home. He was reading online reviews of the new 4G pearphone when his current model rang. It was her.

"Freddie, lets go visit Carly. Roadtrip!"

Of course, he thought. The three friends were newly licenced drivers, and Sam had surprised everyone by coming up with a car. Apparently, one of her relatives "knew a guy", resulting in Sam being first to own one.

Carly and Spencer were in Alaska visiting their grandparents, visiting would require crossing the border first into Canada, then second back to US territory when they reached the discontiguous state. It would be a truly worthy first roadtrip as drivers.

But an unplanned voyage north in late winter by two teens seemed asking for trouble. She knows that, Freddie thought. That's why the rush. Sam knows my mom's away, that I could sneak off, if I had the nerve to do it. We'll get there and Sam will call Mom and say what a wonderful time we're all having in Yakima, just to make Mom's head explode. And pull my licence. Sam would love to see that.

"I don't think that's a good idea Sam. That's a lot of miles, and this is a bad time for it. I know the weather forecast is pretty much all snow. Carly will be going there again this summer, that'll be a much better time to be driving there."

"Don't be a nub all your life. We've got licences burning holes in our pockets and I've got a car, we need to just go. This is a chance to do something cool and exciting, by summer everyone we know will be driving and it won't be anything special."

"It's too risky. Too many things can go bad this time of year."

"You really need to grow a pair, Freddie. I'm going, with or without you. I'll cruise by Bushwell about six tomorrow morning. If you're out there waiting you can come, if not you're just out."

She hung up before he could reply. Now what do I do, he thought? She'll do it, she'll make the run alone. Why is she never reasonable? Most people avoid danger, she aims for it. How can I let her go alone?

. . . . .

Sam stirred on the blanket, driving her heel into his ribs. He growned at the pain but also smiled. "So it's working, isn't it? Starting to warm up?"

"Yeah, a bit. A couple more hours and I'll be ready for a run to the car. Good idea, Fredders."

"Not my idea. I saw it on "Celebrities Snowbound", on the Disaster Channel."

"I've seen that. I saw the one where that chick from the superpowers show freaked out 'cause her pinky toe froze and snapped off. Her character would have grown a new one, I don't think she did."

"I saw that one, I didn't think she'd ever calm down. You know, they're trying to get her back on, to, you know, balance out her feet."

Both began to chuckle, building to full-on laughter. Things turned physical as they began softly kicking each other inside their coats, leading to more laughs. The struggle died down and each lay back, lost in thought.

"A couple hours, then we head for the car," Freddie said. "Let's just rest, and warm up."

. . . . .

The time passed and Freddie stirred, and began stretching, testing the state of his body. This woke Sam, who did the same.

"Time to go Princess, we've a car to find."

"Yeah, we can do this."

A few minutes later they were walking towards their goal, a few more found them arguing.

"No Sam, not that way. This way."

"Don't nub with me, dork. This way."

"No, not this time. You're coming with me."

To his surprise, she did as told. He almost said something, but thought better of it.

They walked for hours, silently, each determined to be stoic in adversity.

The sun topped the treeline as they saw her car, now dusted with blown snow. Sam dug in her pocket and keys jangled as she pulled them out. She picked up her pace, leaving Freddie and the blanket behind as she rushed to the car.

"Yes! I was worried the lock would be iced over. We're in!" She hopped into the car and tried to start the engine. The weak sound of that barely cranking over sank her spirits.

"It's dead," she said. "The battery's dead. We're dead."

"Wait," Freddie said, reaching into the car, trying it himself. The same weak mockery of their need.

"It was a good try, Freddie. Don't feel too bad about it. Damn, we'll be as cold as the battery soon."

"Cold as the..." Freddie glimpsed an idea. "Sam, the battery isn't dead, it's just cold."

"So are we. What difference does it make?"

"We aren't cold yet. Not like that. Out of the car!"

Freddie opened the hood and reached to the back of his belt, grabbing his multitool from it's holster. Sam joined him and watched as he disconnected the battery cables.

"Why? It's an ice cube."

"No, Sam, it's power to start the car. We just have to warm it first."

"How? A bonfire?"

"Two bonfires. Us. Unzip your coat."

Sam stared as Freddie pulled the battery from the car. "C'mon Sam, we need to do this while we have the body heat. Open your coat."

Freddie set down the battery on top of the car and opened his. Sam followed suit. He picked up the battery and they sandwiched it between their bodies.

"Do you really think this will work?"

"Yes, it's sure to. We can warm it enough to to start the car, then the engine running will keep it warm enough. Us too."

They stood together, each wondering when it would be safe to try starting the car. "It must be close to half an hour, when do we try this?" Sam asked.

"I guess now. You get in the car and turn it over when I say."

They broke apart, and Freddie rushed to reconnect the battery. "Okay Sam, try it now."

She turned the key and the engine started at once. Freddie closed the hood and joined her inside, seeing a glistening around her eyes.

"We're gonna make it, aren't we?" She asked.

"Yeah, Sam, we got this."

"So we just sit here and wait, because, you know, no one's looking for us?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, true. We need to attract some attention to ourselves. Still no bars?"

Sam grabbed her cellphone and shook her head no.

"We need to boost the signal."

"Yeah, Sherlock, let's do that. Oh yeah, how?"

" I don't... hey, Sam, do you still have that tank of helium in your trunk?"

"What? Helium? You know more about my trunk than I do. I haven't taken anything out."

"Pop it then, let me see. Sam, have you even opened this since you bought the car?"

"No, but you have. What's a trunk to me?"

"This is good. We have all we need to contact the outside world."

"Huh?"

Freddie reached into the trunk, pulling out a metal tank. "Don't you remember? We made all those helium ballons for iCarly. There's lots of gas left. And balloons," he said, again reaching into the trunk.

"And this reel of speaker wire," he added.

"I don't get it."

"You have no bars 'cause you have just the little antenna inside the phone. Now we'll have a big one."

" What? No, is this gonna work?"

"It should. Antennas work."

Freddie cut several yard-long lengths of wire and told Sam to start filling balloons. As she tied off each one, he attached it to a wire end, creating paired sets. When he had eight sets, he told Sam to stop.

"This should be enough. Let me tie them to the main wire."

He did so, and after double checking the knot, let the balloons rise. He payed out wire from the reel until the balloons topped the treeline.

"Okay, Sam, try your phone now."

"Still no bars."

"Hold it against the wire. The back of the phone." Her eyes lit up. "Two bars. What's nine one one here in Canada?"

"Nine one one."

"Hello? Yes, this is an emergency. Our car went off the road yesterday afternoon. We're about thirty miles from the border with Alaska. Oh, you've got our GPS coordinates? Two of us, me and Freddie. No, we're not hurt, just cold, and hungry. And stuck in the snow. About two hours to reach us? Okay. No, I can't stay on the phone all that time. It's taken some effort to get a signal. We need to get back in the car. I understand. We'll call every half hour until help gets here. Yes, thanks."

Sam ended the call, pocketing the phone. "You got that, Freddie?"

"Yeah. Good thinking, Sam. Calling back instead of staying on saves the phone's battery and lets us stay warm. You get in the car and I'll make sure the balloons don't blow away."

He left them flying, wrapping the reel end of the wire around a tree trunk, and joined Sam in the car.

"Why leave them up?"

"Easier than pulling them in and then letting them up again, and, maybe they'll be seen. Hey, when you call back, ask if help's coming from the town or the border."

"Why?"

"If they tow the car to the border, we can still get to Carly's."

"They aren't sending a towtruck, Freddie. It's gonna be some kind of all-wheel drive, first responder amblulance. I don't think we'll be seeing this car again until spring."

"Well, if we're at the border, maybe we can call Carly to come pick us up."

"Yeah, or no. I still want this to be a surprise. Maybe there's a bus, or we could hitch a ride. I want to see the look on her face when she sees us."

"Wow. A couple hours ago we were dead. Now we're just waiting for a bus."

"You said we were nowhere near dead."

"I was being positive."

They sat in the car, and made the calls, until the sound of wheels crunching snow brought them out to greet their rescuers.


End file.
